The General Secretary of UNI Global Union told CNBC on Tuesday that having just returned from a trip to South America, he is "very worried about the situation" in Brazil.
Philip Jennings, referring to the ongoing impeachment proceedings of Brazilian president Dilma Rousseff, said the feeling on the ground was that "the political stability we have enjoyed there is about to be shattered."
Brazilian leader Rousseff is accused of manipulating budget accounts. Her government, the Workers' Party, has also been tainted by a corruption scandal involving Brazil's state oil company Petrobras. She denies any wrongdoing.
However, Jennings praised Rousseff's party, saying that it had lifted millions of people out of poverty. "My sense was this economy was being managed very well until this political crisis," said Jennings.
He said that particularly in Brazil, there is the sense "that this is a very modern coup" and it is "not clear who is untouched by scandal."
Jennings warned that in the coming months, "we'll see a lot of political instability," out of Brazil, and questioned who could take the country out of its current recession, the worst in 25 years.
Jennings then spoke about Brazil's neighbor – Argentina – also in the midst of a deep recession.
He said that new president Mauricio Macri had introduced "economic shock therapy" to the country.
"What worries me is when you see utility price increases and basic costs for the ordinary working people going up 300, 400, 500 percent," said Jennings to CNBC.
150,000 Argentines lost their jobs in the first 100 days of the Macri presidency, according to Jennings.
"What I'm worried about is quick money comes in, quick money goes out. How does Macri ensure this goes in real infrastructure which is what Argentina needs," he questioned.